Do we prescribe what patients prefer? Pilot study to assess patient preferences for medication regimen characteristics.

Background: The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate patients' self-reported attitudes towards medication-related factors known to impair adherence and to assess their prevalence in ambulatory care as an essential prerequisite to improve patient adherence.

Methods: We conducted a face-to-face interview with 110 primary care patients maintained on at least one drug. For each drug, the patient was asked to specify medication-related factors of interest, ie, dosage form, dosage interval, required relationship with food intake, and the planned time of day for intake, and to rate the individual relevance of each prevalent parameter on a three-point Likert scale (discriminating between prefer, neutral, and dislike).

Difficulties swallowing solid oral dosage forms in a general practice population: prevalence, causes, and relationship to dosage forms.

Purpose: We assessed the prevalence of difficulties in swallowing solid oral dosage forms in a general practice population. Reasons, nature, and characteristics of tablets and capsules causing such difficulties were investigated as well as general practitioners' (GP) awareness of these difficulties.

Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted in 11 general practices and consecutive patients taking at least one solid oral dosage form for ≥4 weeks were invited to respond to a questionnaire at the practices and one at home.

Plasma LDL cholesterol has no impact on P-glycoprotein (MDR1/ABCB1) activity in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Several studies have demonstrated that the adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is at least partly located in cholesterol- and sphingolipid-enriched parts of the plasma membrane called "lipid rafts" and that modification of cellular cholesterol content has an impact on the activity of P-gp in vitro and ex vivo. Cholesterol modulation in vitro does not closely reflect the in vivo situation. The aim of our study was therefore to investigate whether differences in individual plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in humans have an impact on cholesterol content in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and thereby on individual activity of P-gp.

Quality of life and objective disease criteria in patients with intermittent claudication in general practice.

Background: The quality of life (QoL) of patients with chronic diseases is an important decision criterion for medical treatment, especially in primary care settings. It is known that subjective sickness feelings often cannot be correlated with objective disease criteria.

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the QoL of patients with intermittent claudication with the arterial morphology, haemodynamic parameters and functional disability of peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD).